Yucatecan salad gone awry

It's been pretty steamy in Toronto recently so we went with a cold dinner this week.  Back to Fiesta at Rick's for Yucatecan Shredded Steak Salad with Habanero and Cilantro (p. 139) along with guacamole and roasted tomatillo salsa.  But we're starting with dessert, Caramelized Mango Tart with Mexican Chocolate and Pepitas.  Mad props to Mark, one of my oldest and dearest friends, and his wife Niveen for bringing not only a fine French wine, but legitimately bringing it from France.

Vegetative State - Black Bean Burgers

So I'm totally over compensating for last post's lack of photo-punch.  So if you're into reading and not into pictures, you'll have to suck it up for a week. Ha!

Here are three vegetarian recipes that with a little work could even become vegan.  And since we spend our Monday to Friday schedule being vegetarians and part time vegans, we figured we'd see if we could craft a few Mexican dishes in that spirit.  So we grabbed Rick Bayless' Sweet Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions, Watercress and Guajillo Chile Dressing from Mexican Everyday.  And then from The Complete Vegan Kitchen we made Mango Salsa, and a modified version of the Black Bean Burgers.

Soup N' Salad 2: Forget Old Mexico

Because this week we're taking our recipes from New Mexico; Santa Fe to be more specific.  They still have the same feel and vibrancy as our other dishes and nothing came out of an Old El Paso box, so I figure we're still in the clear.

On the agenda we've got Corn Soup with Poblano Chiles, followed by Santa Fe Slaw with Caramelized Pecans.  These recipes come from Seasonal Southwest Cooking by Barbara Pool Fenzl which is an absolutely beautiful cookbook to look through.  It also contains some great contextual information about the recipes which I find really makes or breaks a cookbook.  Be warned: there are pictures missing this week, so you'll have to use your imaginations for some of this.

Mexican Shawarma

Well, it's not exactly Mexican Shawarma, but apparently that's where it comes from.  And some guy named Al Pastor.  This week's recipes came from a special Ultimate Mexican issue of Better Homes and Gardens which is a pretty comprehensive chunk of information.  It's also got full page pictures of everything which is important for those of us who eat with our eyes first.  Let's face it, recipe books of all text don't exactly inspire you to cook.

So make sure your machines are well oiled and see what happens as we check out Tacos al pastor and Chayote salad.

Soup N' Salad

That photo makes me want to lick my screen!

Every week here at FNM we're pushing boundaries and trying new things.  This week it's Tortilla Soup and Ceviche Salad (Mexican Everyday).  The last time we did fish it turned out quite well and this week's guest is responsible for turning me on to all of the AYCE sushi restaurants in Ottawa, so ceviche seemed more than fitting.

But man cannot live on fish alone, so I made sure that the tortilla soup had lots of chicken in it.  So tighten the straps on your straight jackets and let's see what happens!

My eggs have style, Oaxacan style.

What happens when you keep pushing off Friday Night Mexican? You get Saturday Morning Mexican.  And if you push it off some more, you get Sunday Morning Mexican.  And if you push it off more than that, your reader gets angry. Yes, reader.  So these eggs are done Oaxacan style.  What makes them Oaxacan style? I'm not really sure.  Is it the cutting into ribbons? Is it the use of tomatoes?

This recipe came from "Everyday Mexican", which is not to be confused with Rick Bayless' "Mexican Everyday".  Seriously it's two different books.  One of the only things that this book has going for it is that it fits in your jacket pocket.  It has teeny tiny little print, no back story for the recipes, and completely lacks an author.  This is one of those books that companies crank out when they want to publish a book on topic X.  Regardless, it's where we got this week's recipe.  So strap in; it's over before you know it.

Shrimp Free Chipotle Shrimp

What happens when you take the shrimp out of chipotle shrimp? You get this tasty vegetarian dinner, that's what.  Next week we're going to try taking the chipotle out too, just to see what happens.   So this is Chipotle Shrimp from Mexican Everyday made with the Tofu instructions.

Beware, here be zucchini.